Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
Quick Facts
- Setting: All areas
- Station spacing: Ranges depending on use, but generally 1/4 mile or greater apart
- Avg. effective speed: 20-45 mph
- Vehicle capacity: 35-70 passengers per bus
- Upper route ability: 2,500 passengers per hour
- Typical daytime frequency: 4-20 mins
Overview
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a term encompassing a number of modern methods for using buses to move large numbers of people at higher speeds than what a regular local transit bus could do. BRT services often operate like "limited stop" local bus services, but with dedicated infrastructure, roadway, and use new technologies to speed service.
In general:
- BRT stops are spaced further apart than local bus stops (generally at major intersections, transfer points, or destinations), and can range in distance from 1/4 to 1 mile.
- BRT vehicles are usually high-capacity articulated vehicles, with two or more segments acting as passenger compartments.
- BRT vehicles often require passengers to pay before entering the vehicle, to reduce boarding times and speeding up service.
- BRT has been implemented on special separated rights-of-way ("busways," "transitways") as well as on shared roadways.
- In situations where on a shared roadway, BRT vehicles often have their own designated lanes (sometimes separated entirely by curbs or other barriers).
- BRT usually gets signal priority or can influence traffic signal cycles to reduce wait time at red lights, and often implements guidance systems to ease operation.
Technology
Bus Rapid Transit technology can be simple or advanced, depending on the implementation. Because traditional surface transit, unlike cars, is subjected to stopping more frequently and waiting while people board and alight vehicles, BRT can make up some of the difference in time through use of technology.
Light rail/streetcars are faster than buses by having a fixed guideway and fewer factors that inhibit speed, but BRT allows for lower initial investment, more flexibility than light rail in the event of a blockage, and often uses technology that brings it closer to streetcar service without the installation of rails.
BRT systems can have automated guidance so the operator only needs to control speed or react to obstructions, and also allows more precise maneuvering through narrower dedicated lanes (which lessens impact on local traffic). This ensures a more consistent experience.
Some implementations of BRT merely have guidance systems to automate stopping, so buses can stop at precise locations and up against a curb to eliminate gaps between the boarding area and the vehicle platform and makes sure the height of the floor is flush with the waiting area outside. This makes boarding faster for people who use a wheelchair, passengers with strollers or carts, or people who have trouble with steps.
Most systems either have a separate right-of-way, dedicated lanes, or at least some form of "signal priority" to make sure buses can move more quickly through congested areas, further counteracting the small delays otherwise unavoidable to transit vehicles, and making transit more competitive with private automobile use.